at a stand still

I have this theory about some people and challenges. Some people are focused UNTIL that challenge is completed and then get back to what we were doing. I know I don't do challenges AT ALL apart from the one where I challenged myself to lose weight and keep it off. I have been at my goal for a long time, and the challenge still applies - even more so now because I have lost the weight and don't want to regain it EVER! Altho' my Dietitian had a goal and that initial one was to get to 72kg (she shifted the goal post once I was there....) MY goal was merely to lose weight and SEE if I could lose much because any weight loss was better than NO weight loss!

The point I am trying to make is that perhaps you haven't found the real motivator for you!

Oh, the irony. Trying to comfort ourselves about the weight gain with ice cream. Been there.

This isn't a race, it's a journey, and it's one that takes a lifetime. Archimedes had a good idea. Pick a few things to improve on. Don't try to do everything at once. Start with a few simple things, like tracking your food, getting enough water and sleep, or walking during your lunch hour every day. Once you get some good habits under your belt, add a few more. You will see results. There will be ups and downs, of course, but over time you will make progress.

Oh ((hugs))...I know exactly how you feel! That used to be what happened to me...now, I simply don't even use a scale (ha- solved that problem).

What really, really made the hugest impact for me was eating a lot of veggies...also more fruit but at least a minimum of 9 servings veggies a day.

I know, it sounds like a lot, but I swear to you, I find that it lets me eat over plan (I'm pretty much maintaining now but still tweaking here and there). That's the one component that I never did in my old attempts at weight loss, and even though I had some success twice, it was torturous and both those times I gained it back. I was about ready to throw in the towel and accept that I would always be heavy, I was too old, etc.

You might already do the fruit & veggie thing but if not, try it for a week and see if your clothes don't fit better, then looser, etc. etc. FYI, eat the other stuff you normally eat - just watch quantities and try to keep it clean, not a lot of sugar, etc.

We're all different but just wanted to let you know what worked for me. Your post reminded me of me a while ago! Try really ramping the veggies and see if it kicks things into gear for you.

Even though you've been with Spark People for a few months now, I'm going to give you one piece of advice I give to all new members just starting and it's this,"Don't look at good health or weight loss with an all or nothing mentality". If the only healthy thing you were to do for yourself today was to drink 8 glasses of water, that's still a step in the right direction.

Have you been logging your food ? If not, studies have shown that people who log their food lose more weight than those who don't. Try logging your food. If you have been logging your food, would you be willing to open up your spark page and let the members look at your food diary ? We aren't here to criticise, but we might make a few suggestions for improvements.

Don't beat yourself up, you have to be proactive as well as productive. Start with some simple changes first. don't try to do everything at once or you will end up frustrated. set some simple goals for the week. Example, if you're not used to eating 6-9 servings of fresh fruit and veggies, set a goal to eat 2-3 servings each day for one week. if you're not used to drinking 8 glasses of water, set a goal to drink 2-4 glasses each day for one week. if you're not used to regular exercise, set a goal to take a 30 minute walk each day for one week. Once you've achieved these goals, then you set new ones.

And that's how a person starts a healthy lifestyle. Take baby steps, literally and figuratively. you CAN do this, but you have to start making some goals. then you need to sit down and decide what you need to do to achieve those goals. thus the need to start small.

I started my weight loss program around august of this year. Ive completed 2 challenges and i keep looping back to my original weight. I lost 5 pounds between aug and sept then my boyfriend and i went to louisiana for 2 weeks due to his job and I gained them back. my weight stayed at 224-225 from sept to october and then I lost those five pounds again between october and november and going back to 220. It makes me incredibly upset because I should be -10lbs by now but instead I weighed myself today (after thanksgiving holiday) and Im back to 225!!!! I was 220 last tuesday! and I made sure not to over eat while at thanksgiving and picking only the healthier option to eat and instead I GAINED weight. I was proud of myself for stopping myself from eating all the pie and too many smores at the fire. I just feel like giving up and that everything I do just back fires on me and just makes me want to dig into a pint of ice cream and go buy some cake or go to a mcdonalds.

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